Murray Dean Craven (born July 20, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1982–83 and 1999–2000 and the former vice president of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Murray Craven
Born (1964-07-20) July 20, 1964 (age 60)
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Philadelphia Flyers
Hartford Whalers
Vancouver Canucks
Chicago Blackhawks
San Jose Sharks
National team  Canada
NHL draft 17th overall, 1982
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1982–2000

Playing career

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Craven played his junior hockey with his hometown Medicine Hat Tigers, and his success there saw him selected by the Detroit Red Wings with their first-round pick (17th overall) in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He proceeded to make the Wings' NHL squad out of training camp at age 18, and recorded 4 goals and 11 points in 31 games before being returned to Medicine Hat. He would see 15 more games of NHL action in 1983–84, again splitting the year between Detroit and Medicine Hat. By this time he was dominating the WHL, recording 94 points in just 46 games.

Philadelphia Flyers

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On the eve of the 1984–85 season, Craven was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers as the centrepiece of a deal for aging superstar Darryl Sittler. The deal proved to be an absolute heist for Philadelphia, as Sittler struggled through one final season before retiring while Craven stepped straight into the Flyers' lineup as one of their top forwards. In his first full season, Craven finished 5th in team scoring with 61 points and added 10 more points in the playoffs helping lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers.

Craven would spend 7+ successful seasons in Philadelphia, establishing himself as a top-notch two-way forward. He again helped the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1987, although he missed a large portion of the playoffs that year with a broken foot. In 1987–88, Craven had one of his finest seasons, reaching the 30-goal plateau for the only time in his career and leading the Flyers with 76 points. After an injury-plagued 1988–89 season, Craven recorded his first 50-assist campaign in 1989–90.

Post-Flyers career

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However, by the early 1990s the Flyers' success of the 1980s was well behind them and they were in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive years out of the playoffs. Despite still playing well, Craven was a casualty of this period and was dealt to the Hartford Whalers for Kevin Dineen 12 games into the 1991–92 season. Craven would finish the season with 60 points, second on the Whalers.

Craven was again amongst the Whalers' leading scorers in 1992–93, but with the team about to miss the playoffs he was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline. He finished the year setting career highs in assists (52) and points (77), and provided an offensive boost to the Canucks, although they were outed in the second round of the playoffs. In 1993–94, he scored 55 points for the Canucks and added 13 more in the playoffs en route to the finals, where he came out on the losing end for the third time. He also had the unfortunate distinction of being on the losing end of the only two Cup finals between 1971 and 2001 to go the full 7 games. The winning coach of the 1994 Finals, Mike Keenan, was coach of the Flyers in 1987.

Following the 1994–95 NHL lockout, Craven endured a lengthy holdout as a result of uncertainty over his free agency status. Eventually he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Christian Ruuttu, although he was able to play in only 16 games. In the playoffs, he scored 10 points to help the Blackhawks to the Conference Finals, defeating Vancouver along the way.

Craven scored 47 points in his first full season in Chicago, but by the 1996–97 season he was being used primarily in a defensive role, and he finished the year with full-season career lows of just 8 goals and 35 points. Following that season, he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks. In San Jose, he continued to be a solid defensive forward, although he was increasingly hobbled by injuries. In 1998–99 he was limited to just 43 games and 13 points. Following a poor start (just 2 assists in 19 games) and a hernia surgery, he was released by San Jose midway through the 1999–2000 season, effectively ending his career.

Craven finished his NHL career with 266 goals and 493 assists for 759 points in 1071 games. He also added 27 goals and 70 points in 118 career playoff games.

Post-playing career

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Craven was the former vice president of the Vegas Golden Knights. He had significant input on the design of City National Arena, the team's headquarters and practice facility.[1]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 69 5 10 15 18 5 0 0 0 2
1981–82 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 72 35 46 81 49
1982–83 Detroit Red Wings NHL 31 4 7 11 6
1982–83 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 28 17 29 46 35
1983–84 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 48 38 56 94 53 4 5 3 8 4
1983–84 Detroit Red Wings NHL 15 0 4 4 6
1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 26 35 61 30 19 4 6 10 11
1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 21 33 54 34 5 0 3 3 4
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 19 39 49 38 12 3 1 4 9
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 72 30 46 76 58 7 2 5 7 4
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 51 9 28 37 52 1 0 0 0 2
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 25 50 75 42
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 19 47 66 53
1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 12 3 3 6 8
1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 61 24 30 54 38 7 3 3 6 6
1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 67 25 42 67 20
1992–93 Vancouver Canucks NHL 10 0 10 10 12 12 4 6 10 4
1993–94 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 15 40 55 30 22 4 9 13 18
1994–95 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 16 4 3 7 2 16 5 5 10 4
1995–96 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 66 18 29 47 36 9 1 4 5 2
1996–97 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 75 8 27 35 12 2 0 0 0 2
1997–98 San Jose Sharks NHL 67 12 17 29 25 6 1 1 2 0
1998–99 San Jose Sharks NHL 43 4 10 14 18
1999–00 San Jose Sharks NHL 19 0 2 2 4
NHL totals 1,071 266 493 759 524 118 27 43 70 66

International

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Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1989 Canada WC 9 1 5 6 6
1991 Canada WC 9 1 1 2 10
Senior totals 18 2 6 8 16

Awards

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  • WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1984

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Vegas Golden Knights' practice facility close to completion". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
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Preceded by Detroit Red Wings first round draft pick
1982
Succeeded by